Welcome Home Fall Out Boy!

Yesterday I got to regress back to my high school days and rocked out to some good ol' Fall Out Boy. Their new album rocks my socks off and hearing it live definitely did not disappoint. The venue was small and intimate and the show sold out seconds after tickets went on sale for their Chicago date. Nothing like a sweet homecoming for this Chicago band! They mixed it up quite nicely with their old and new hits. Fall Out Boy isn't really Josh's music scene but he tagged along since he knew I loved them. We met up with my friend Laura who is another FOB fan.

We opted to stay out of the pit and still had a decent view, although if you are vertically challenged, it wasn't a good option. The opening act, Hollywood Hilt or whatever...yikes...not a fan. He was a good rapper if you're into that kind of music but ummm yeah everyone wanted him to gtfo the stage. If didn't even make sense for him to open for Fall Out Boy either. It's not a crowd you ask to "twerk dat ass".... When he announced his last song, everyone was basically cheering since the end was near. FOB had amazing energy and loved hearing them live. I never got to back in high school. Total win.

Laura and I saw Blink 182 last summer together, so seeing FOB together this year I think is a great start to this trend. I surprisingly still have a voice today and adequate hearing. It was quite a bit of work elbowing some bitches out of the way who tried to finagle their way through to get closer. Not happening. Pet peeve to the max when it comes to shows...if you want a closer spot, get there earlier because you are NOT going to shove your way past me. You will get an elbow....in the face as I daaaance, daaaance away.

Needless to say, just like any other time post-concert, I will binge on FOB's albums for the next couple of weeks. Also, leave it to my future hubs to be rocking a Hawaiian shirt to a show like this. Goodness I love that man to pieces.

They came back doing one encore starting out with "Save Rock and Roll" one of my fav songs on their new album. After the show ended, all of the hot, sweaty and sticky bodies ventured outside to face the clusterfuck of traffic. Josh was worried his car would get towed, but thankfully it was right where we left it! Phew. One of the battles always to be fought here is parking which is why I ALWAYS favor public transportation. Great music, great company...an amazing night to a summer that is only beginning.

Sweet Home Chicago

After what started out as a rough  week, it seemed to improve drastically mid-week and definitely looked forward to Saturday. I bought him a Groupon for a Chicago architecture tour for his birthday back in April and we finally found the time to cash in on it and make some reservations. Although we're locals, it's fun to do the touristy stuff and actually educate yourself about your own city. The tour was hosted by Seadog Cruises located right off of Navy Pier. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I looked forward to treating my dad out for a good time.

We got there ahead of schedule so we walked up and down the pier until boarding time taking in all of the great scenery and enjoyed people watching. I personally found it very hard not to follow my nose to the nearest vendor selling funnel cakes and/or ice cream wonderfulness. Those items are not exactly on my "lose 10 more pounds" list. I managed to snag a random person to snap a decent photo of me and my daddy-io. I love him so much, especially for wearing that hat. I don't know what I'd do or who I would be without him.

After playing tourist and taking a million photos of pretty yachts and sailboats, we headed back to snag our tickets for the architecture tour. By that time the sun was out full force and blaring down on us at approximately 94 degrees give or take. We waited in line waiting for the people as they prepped the speed boat for us to board.

Our tour guide - Grant - although very knowledgeable of the city, couldn't have tried harder to be funny as he attempted to plug in some jokes while educating everyone about the windy city's great architecture. He was great though. I personally could never have a job like that rambling off and remembering so many factoids. Something I didn't know was that the largest piece of real estate here in Chicago at a whopping $34 million is a pent house at Trump Tower. Yikes. After the tour, we picked up some speed on the boat and rode around the lake and caught some amazing views of the Chicago skyline.

 After we docked at Navy Pier, we set out for some foodstuffs at Harry Caray's Tavern. We dined outside since it cooled off and kicked back while I assessed the sun damage wreaking havoc on my skin. I may or may not have applied enough SPF. Burn baby burn. My dad feasted on a huge Tavern burger while I was semi-good and got a grilled chicken wrap. I caved though when I saw this delicious concoction that was a frozen lemonade spiked with cherry vodka. It was a little slice of heaven.

As for yesterday, I had to make up for missing my long distance running day so I stick with my training schedule....yeah running 8 miles after a long day at work is just what I need...especially when it's hotter than hell out. BUT I rocked it out in record time thanks to my iPod that kept me going. I'm also back to being extremely strict with myself concerning any empty calories (i.e. wine, lattes, margaritas etc..) For the next 30 days I'm going hardcore with my diet to lose these last 10lbs that are hanging on for dear life. It's go time.